Rural Project Examples Addressing Physicians - Rural Health Information Hub

OHSU Rural Surgery Training
Updated/reviewed September 2022

Need: General surgeons are needed in rural communities.
Intervention: Oregon Health & Science University (OHSU) is sending residents to complete a general surgery rotation in rural southern Oregon.
Results: 37% of the graduates of the rural residency program are now practicing in a rural setting. The residents remain more likely than other OHSU residents to enter general surgery practice and to serve in a community of fewer than 50,000 people.

MU AHEC Summer Community Program
Updated/reviewed March 2021

Need: Lack of healthcare providers, specifically physicians, in rural Missouri.
Intervention: Rising second-year medical students at University of Missouri's School of Medicine are given the opportunity to participate in a clinical program in a rural community setting.
Results: Almost half of the participants from 1996-2010 chose to practice in rural locations upon graduation.

TUSM-MMC Program Longitudinal Integrated Clerkship
Updated/reviewed April 2023

Need: To fill vacant medical positions in Maine's rural medical facilities.
Intervention: The Tufts Maine Track LIC program offers clerkships in rural medical facilities, exposing medical school students to the positives and possibilities that rural practices have to offer.
Results: The program has seen an increase in students' interest in practicing in rural Maine. The majority of participants have pursued medical careers in one of the six core specialties studied during their clerkship.

Successfully Training and Educating Pre-medical Students (STEPS)
Updated/reviewed December 2022

Need: To increase the number of primary care providers in northeast Kentucky.
Intervention: STEPS provides support such as physician shadowing, mock interviews, and MCAT practice courses/exams for regional students applying to medical school.
Results: More than 70% of participants have been accepted into medical school. The program has been replicated among most of Kentucky's regional AHECs.

Health Extension Regional Offices (HEROs)
Updated/reviewed November 2021

Need: People in rural New Mexico often found it difficult to find and utilize needed resources from the University of New Mexico Health Sciences Center (UNMHSC).
Intervention: UNMHSC created Health Extension Regional Offices (HEROs), in which HERO agents live in the communities they serve, help identify health and social needs, and link them with UNMHSC and other university resources.
Results: In their regions, HERO agents' activities have been diverse, including recruiting physicians, mobilizing research funds to address local priorities, working on economic development, training laypeople in Mental Health First Aid, and helping local institutions access UNMHSC resources.

Targeted Rural Underserved Track (TRUST) Program
Updated/reviewed February 2023

Need: There is a shortage of rural physicians in the Northwestern United States.
Intervention: University of Washington medical students are receiving training through the TRUST program in rural, underserved communities across a five-state radius.
Results: Long-lasting connections have been formed among regional and underserved communities, medical students, and rural health professionals, producing more rural physicians as a result.

Wisconsin Collaborative for Rural Graduate Medical Education
Updated/reviewed October 2022

Need: Primary care physicians in the rural areas of Wisconsin.
Intervention: A GME collaborative was created that provides leadership, technical assistance, and support for expanding rural graduate medical education in Wisconsin.
Results: The collaborative expanded rural graduate medical education opportunities which now include over 20 rural training programs. There are several residencies and fellowship opportunities in specialties ranging from family medicine to surgery, obstetrics/gynecology, psychiatry, and more.

Health Profession Rural Summer Immersion Program
Updated/reviewed June 2022

Need: To expose medical and physician assistant students to rural healthcare practices and a rural lifestyle.
Intervention: A two-week immersion program for second-year students to experience rural healthcare and rural life in Connecticut and New York.
Results: In post-program evaluations from 2016 to 2018, 50% of students reported being very likely to practice in a rural setting, compared to just over 10% of students before the program.

Avera LIGHT
Updated/reviewed March 2021

Need: Assistance for urban and rural physicians — as well as other healthcare providers — who are experiencing burnout and other issues associated with well-being.
Intervention: As part of its provider well-being focus in its rural and urban facilities, Avera Health system has created a program which attends to physician wellness issues starting with recruitment with continued support through retirement.
Results: With increasing engagement due to word of mouth, the program creates a culture of wellness where stigma is decreased and providers are encouraged to be proactive in reaching out for assistance for issues related to their personal and professional well-being.

Prairie Lakes Healthcare System Physician Recruitment Model
Updated/reviewed February 2021

Need: Localized specialty and surgery services for residents in rural northeastern South Dakota and western Minnesota.
Intervention: Prairie Lakes Healthcare System expanded their services by recruiting specialty physicians and networking with regional community hospitals to increase patient referrals.
Results: Patients receive surgery and specialized care closer to home through Prairie Lakes' specialty medical providers and specialty services.

Rural Project Examples: Physicians